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22 years
I have small white living worms in my feces, is that something serious ?Could it be a symptom of a disease like cancer?
Apr 20, 2015

Dr. Zakia Dimassi Pediatrics
Before I answer your question, I would like to give you a piece of health advice: in general, cancer is the last on the list of possible diagnoses especially in young and previously healthy people, UNLESS there is one or more "red flags", namely, unexplained weight loss, generalized fatigue, palpable non-painful masses.
And yes it sounds like you have intestinal worms, something that is not uncommon in our part of the world, mainly because of poor sanitation. To identify the exact kind of worm that is infesting your intestines, stool studies (stool for ova and parasites and tape test on 3 consecutive days) are recommended. The treatment, based upon the most common/prevalent types of intestinal worms in our area (which are Enterobius vermicularis and        Entamoeba histolytica) is usually oral mebendazole. The definitive choice of therapy will be determined according to the results of the stool tests.
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